Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to provide him with support while he was in a private fostering arrangement with a child, Y. Mr X said this caused him stress and meant he could not maintain the arrangement. We do not find the Council at fault.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains:
• the Council failed to provide him with financial support while he was in a private fostering arrangement.
• the Council did not help him to deal with Y’s mental well-being.
• the Council was dismissive when he raised his complaint and did not take the time to discuss the situation with him to ensure it had fully understood why he was unhappy.
2. Mr X says this has caused him a great deal of stress and meant he was unable to maintain the arrangement.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
5. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
6. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

7. I spoke to Mr X about this complaint and considered the information he provided.
8. I asked the Council for the information I needed to consider Mr X’s complaint and I reviewed all the information it provided. This included:
• Young person’s plans for Y from the time she was in Mr X’s care
• Contact records
• Case notes from the time Y was in Mr X’s care
• A private fostering arrangement assessment from January 2021
• A child and family assessment from February 2021
9. Mr X and the Council commented on a draft decision and I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

The Children Act 1989

10. Section 17 of The Children Act 1989 places a duty on local councils to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need. It explains the council may provide services, as needed, to any member of a child’s family if it is provided with a view to safeguarding or promoting the child’s welfare.

Private fostering

11. Private fostering is an arrangement whereby a child lives with someone not closely related to them. The parent and carer will have arranged this between themselves privately. In private fostering arrangements, the child’s parents remain responsible for any financial support they may need, and the council is not liable for paying a fostering allowance.
12. However, the child could still be a child in need and eligible for support services from the council, including financial support under section 17 of the Children Act.
13. Once a council is aware of a private fostering arrangement, it must carry out checks to decide if the arrangement is suitable. There are regulations and national minimum standards for private fostering.

The Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 2005

14. The Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 2005 (“the regulations”) is the legislation which sets out a council’s duties regarding private fostering arrangements.
15. The regulations explain that when a council is notified a child is being privately fostered it should:
• Visit the premises where the child is being cared for and accommodated
• Visit and speak to the private foster carer and members of their household
• Visit and speak to the child alone
• Where practicable, speak to anyone who holds parental responsibility for the child
16. They also explain councils should ensure the financial arrangements of the care and maintenance of the child are working.

National minimum standards for Private Fostering 2005

17. The national minimum standards for private fostering (“the standards”) set out the expectations on a council when it comes to private fostering.
18. The standards say councils should have a written statement or plan setting out its duties and functions in relation to private functioning and how they will be carried out. The standards explain councils should decide the suitability of all aspects of the private fostering arrangement in accordance with the regulations. It says councils should provide such advice and support to the private foster carers as appears necessary.

Looked after Child

19. A Looked after Child is any child who is subject to a care order or accommodated away from their family by a council under section 20 of the Children Act. The child becomes a Looked after Child once a council has accommodated them for more than 24 hours.

The Council’s policy

20. The policy states that private fostering arrangements are made directly without involving the Council. It explains a privately fostered child is a child under 16 who is cared for by an adult who is not a parent or close relative, or a Council foster carer.
21. The policy explains in these types of arrangement the parent keeps parental responsibility and is responsible for any financial payments for the child. It also explains the private foster carer can claim child benefit and child tax credits.

Effective Complaint Handling for local authorities

22. In October 2020, the Ombudsman published a document setting out principles of effective complaint handling and what we expect to see from councils.
23. This document explains councils should hear a complainant’s view of what has gone wrong and how this has affected them. It explains councils should be open and accountable and clearly deliver decisions with the reasons for those decisions.

What happened

Private fostering arrangement

24. Y moved into Mr X’s home in November 2020 as her parents could no longer care for her. From the time Y moved in with Mr X, her parents agreed to treat this as a private fostering arrangement. They retained financial responsibility for Y and paid Mr X the child tax credits they received for her each month.
25. The Council was notified when Y moved into Mr X’s home and referred her for an early help assessment. The Council discussed the situation with the police and Y’s school and decided Y may be suitable for an ongoing private fostering Arrangement with Mr X. The Council also arranged home visits to ensure Mr X’s home was a suitable environment for Y.
26. The following week, the Council made a further referral to the Child in Need / Child Protection team. A Child in Need plan was put in place for Y, while she lived with Mr X, to oversee her well-being. The Council decided that as Y would not be able to return to her father’s care for some time, it would need to assess and approve her placement with Mr X.
27. On 10 December, the Council completed a Private Fostering Arrangement assessment. This found Y was settled and happy with Mr X, had a clean and well-furnished living environment, and her parents consented to the arrangement. It also recorded that Mr X was willing to care for Y until her parents could.
28. The Council carried out checks on Mr X and his wife, including a Disclosure and Barring Service check, to assess their suitability and decided they met the relevant criteria in January 2021. The Council then approved the arrangement.
29. Case notes from 19 January 2021 show the Council discussed the financial arrangements with Mr X and explained Y’s parents may be able to apply for additional benefits if needed. The Council also signposted Mr X to the Citizen’s Advice Bureau if he needed further advice.
30. The Council carried out a Children and Family assessment in February 2021. This considered Y, her parents, her wider family, and Mr X and his wife, to assess the situation and the support available.
31. The Council decided Mr X’s home was a suitable environment for Y to be supported, with a Child in Need plan and regular visits every six weeks. During these visits, the social worker spoke to Mr X and his wife and Y privately. Council records show the social worker was not always able to speak with Y’s parents when they were in hospital but did carry out assessments of their situations.
32. On advice from an Independent Review officer, the Council decided this was a true private fostering arrangement put in place with no Council input. Because of this, the Council did not take any action to enforce the arrangement or treat Y as a looked after child, but noted if Mr X wanted advice about making the arrangement permanent, he could ask the Council.
33. The notes show the social worker regularly discussed Y’s mental wellbeing with her to see what support they could offer, and with Mr X and his wife to ensure they were on the same page. Y was also supported by Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) while she was in Mr X’s care.
34. Mr X says Y’s parents moved onto Universal Credit in March and were no longer receiving child tax credits, so they could no longer fulfil the financial element of the private fostering arrangement. The Council said Mr X did not tell it this at the time and there is no record of it in the case notes the Council has provided. This meant the Council did not assess Mr X for a financial package.
35. Case notes from 15 April 2021 show the Council discussed the process of Y’s parents applying for additional benefits. The notes show Y’s mother was concerned about money but said she had no debt and did have money in the bank.
36. Mr X and his wife went on holiday in July and, following a discussion with the Council, Y moved back in with her father temporarily. Y decided to stay with her father following Mr X’s holiday as she felt it was going well and the wider family was supporting her.
37. Y moved back into Mr X’s home in August as her father went into hospital. Sadly, he died shortly after. As the Council still had Y and Mr X registered as a private fostering arrangement, this continued on the same lines as previously.
38. During a virtual meeting to discuss ongoing support for Y, on 23 August, Mr X told the Council he had some reservations about offering a permanent home for Y. Mr X said he needed extra support and training to be able to fully meet Y’s needs. The Council agreed to consider the options.
39. On 31 August, an Independent Reviewing Officer for private fostering explained to Mr X that he could apply for a Special Guardianship Order. They explained this would mean:
• There would be a financial assessment to decide what support Mr X needed
• The Council would consider Y a looked after child, entitling her to post-18 support
• There would be access to the Adoption Support Fund to help Y
40. The Council offered a further meeting with Mr X in November to discuss Special Guardianship but he declined this. Mr X told the Council he did not feel he could offer long-term care for Y.
41. On 30 November, Y left Mr X’s home and the Council recorded the private fostering arrangement as ended.

Complaint handling

42. Mr X complained to the Council on 9 November 2021. He explained no package of care had been put in place for Y and he believed she ought to have been treated as a looked after child. Mr X said he believed the Council did not involve itself in ensuring Y’s welfare and it should have helped to support her financially from March 2021 when her parents no longer could.
43. The Council responded to Mr X’s complaint the following day. It explained Mr X and Y were involved in a private fostering arrangement which meant its involvement was minimal and its duty was to ensure Y was safeguarded. It explained the private fostering arrangement meant Y was accommodated already, but as Mr X was not an immediate family member it would seek further guidance on this. The Council explained there were two options for Mr X now:
1. Y could remain in the private fostering arrangement until she turned 16 with the support of a social worker and child in need planning. In this arrangement her mother would retain parental responsibility.
2. Y’s family could consider a private law application. This could mean Mr X sharing responsibility with Y’s mother, or seeking a Special Guardianship Order (SGO). The Council explained an SGO would mean Mr X would have overriding parental responsibility.
44. The Council explained any one of those options could sit alongside social worker support while it was needed. The Council also explained if Mr X decided to seek an SGO this would include a financial assessment to consider whether the Council should make regular support payments.
45. Mr X responded to the Council further on 11 November to request his complaint be considered at stage two. Mr X explained:
• He now believed Y’s needs were beyond what he could meet without a formalised and supervised care plan with input from the Council.
• He felt the Council had misunderstood the needs of both himself and Y. Private fostering was only started as a last resort and he believed something more formal would be put in place by the Council.
• He believes the private fostering came to an end in March 2021 when payment of child tax credits stopped.
• Y’s mother is not able to look after her, and Mr X’s continued support would be reliant on support and financial help from the Council.
• He did not want a solution – such as a SGO – that required testing and annual reviews, as this would create uncertainty rather than ensuring Y’s needs were met consistently going forward.
46. The Council had a meeting with Mr X on 19 November and wrote to him that day to sum up their conversation. The Council explained it had regular conversations with the social worker about what support was put in place for Y. It also reiterated that as Y was in a private fostering arrangement with Mr X there was no need to treat her as needing to be accommodated.
47. Mr X contacted the Council again on 12 December. He explained he was unhappy with the outcome of the meeting with the Council and asked for his complaint to be considered at the second stage of its complaint process.
48. The Council responded to Mr X’s complaint on 12 January 2022. It explained:
• The decision to treat Y as privately fostered was correct.
• Although Y has some additional needs that required extra support, this was provided through CAMHS, the support of the social worker, and the Child in Need plan. There was no need to treat Y as a looked after child.
49. The Council incorrectly informed Mr X he could ask for his complaint to move to stage three of its process before explaining he would actually need to contact the Ombudsman if he remained unhappy.
50. Mr X referred his complaint to the Ombudsman in February 2022.

Analysis

12 months

51. We cannot investigate complaints that have been brought to us more than 12 months after the complainant ought to have been aware of reason to complain. We are only able to exercise discretion if there are good reasons to do so.
52. Y first entered Mr X’s care in November 2020, which is more than 12 months before he contacted us. However, as this issue was ongoing until November 2021, less than 12 months before Mr X referred his complaint to us, I think there is good reason to exercise discretion to investigate the full circumstances.

Action the Council took when it was made aware of the private fostering

53. When the Council became aware Y had moved into Mr X’s property it acted quickly to discuss the situation with Y’s school, the police, and Mr X and his wife. The Council considered this was a private arrangement made directly between Mr X and his wife, and Y’s parents with no Council input.
54. The Council also carried out assessments to determine Mr X and his wife were suitable for private fostering, and if Y was happy and what support she was receiving from her wider family.
55. While Y was in Mr X’s care, the Council ensured there were regular home visits to talk to Mr X and his wife as well as Y.
56. I find no fault with the actions the Council took once it was notified of the private fostering arrangement. The Council’s actions appear to be in line with its own policy and the regulations.

Financial support

57. As the Council considered Mr X and his wife to be in a private fostering arrangement with Y, its policy meant Y’s parents retained financial responsibility. However, the regulations state councils must also make sure the financial arrangements are working.
58. Case notes from January and April 2021 suggest the Council had discussions with Mr X and Y’s mother about the financial aspect of the agreement. The information I have seen suggests the Council ensured Mr X was aware benefits may be available and how to find out more about this. It was also assured by Y’s mother that she did have funds available to maintain her side of the arrangement.
59. I do not find fault with the way the Council assessed whether the financial arrangements were working.
60. Mr X says Y’s parents stopped making payments in March 2021 when they moved to Universal Credit. The Council says it was not aware of this and I can see nothing in the case notes to suggest the Council ought to have known this was the case.
61. Where evidence is contradictory or incomplete, I can make findings based on the balance of probabilities. However, in this case I have not seen enough evidence to say, even on balance, that the Council had cause to believe the financial arrangements were no longer working and it needed to take action.
62. The Council also had discussions with Mr X about applying for a Special Guardianship Order which would have entitled him to further financial assistance, but he chose not to pursue this.

Support with mental wellbeing

63. Mr X has said the Council did not do enough to help him manage Y’s mental wellbeing. The case notes show Y was under the care and advice of CAMHS while she was staying with Mr X. Y also began to receive Equine Therapy which was funded by Children’s Services.
64. The notes show the social worker was aware of Y’s mental health issues and had discussions with Mr X and his wife around how best to support these. They also show Mr X’s wife frequently expressed she was struggling to cope with the pressures of Y’s mental health issues.
65. This was clearly a very difficult time for Mr X and his wife, but it appears the Council did take steps to support Y’s mental wellbeing. I do not find the Council at fault here.

Complaint handling

66. Mr X says the Council’s complaint handler was dismissive and told him they were only discussing the complaint with him as a matter of course, not because the complaint was valid. I have not investigated this aspect of Mr X’s complaint further as, in isolation, it would not meet the threshold for a finding of fault.
67. Mr X also says the Council had no conversations with him during the second stage of its complaint process. However, the Council’s complaints policy does not require the reviewing officer to have a discussion with the complainant at Stage 2. I have not investigated this aspect of Mr X’s complaint as there is not enough evidence of fault.
68. I appreciate Mr X’s frustration, and I understand he did not get the resolution he was seeking from the Council’s complaint process. However, the complaint responses I have seen suggest the Council had a good understanding of Mr X’s complaint and provided a comprehensive response to his points.
69. While Mr X disagrees with the Council, I find no fault with how the Council handled his complaint.

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Final decision

70. I find no fault with how the Council treated this private fostering arrangement, or how it handled Mr X’s complaint. I have now completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman